Another view on the apology

Local, Norfolk, Politics, Virginia 2 Minutes

I received the following via email from Pat Morton, a long-time resident of Norfolk. With her permission, I share her perspective with you.

I have lots of stuff going on in my head about this. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but at 54 years old I am old enough to remember the “white” and the “colored” bathrooms at Ames & Brownley’s downtown, along with the water fountains for that matter. I saw the bathrooms when I was with my grandmother, I couldn’t have been more than 6 years old, if that old. I wanted to go to the “colored” bathroom because if it was “colored” it was surely more fun than just plain. I’m sure I mortified her when I made a fuss about it.

I also remember not being allowed to sit at the back of the bus – I wanted to sit on the long bench seat at the very back and look out the back window, but my mother wouldn’t let me, the white people didn’t sit back there. Again I was 6 or younger I’m thinking.

I remember when I moved to Colonial Place in 1976 or so my great-uncle having some awful things to say about the mixed neighborhood.

I remember horrible racial things happening at Blair, but then they all got better at Maury. Not perfect, but really a lot better and I was naïve enough to believe that things were finally going to be okay. That was 1968-1970. Hah.

I have never, ever understood any of it. Obviously I have nowhere near a black person’s perspective on any of this, but I can tell you I have been as hurt as any white person can be by all of it and I will never understand how these white people cannot grasp at least a part of this.

Apologize for slavery? Hell, yes. If it wasn’t for slavery, none of the things that offended me – and offended every single black person, which goes without saying – would have ever happened. It doesn’t matter that no one alive today was or had slaves, what matters is the things I’ve experienced in my lifetime that were a result of it and, WAY more importantly, the things blacks have experienced and continue to experience. What in the hell is it about a freakin’ APOLOGY that could be wrong??

Thanks, Pat. You obviously get it.

Published

80 thoughts on “Another view on the apology”

  1. Pat, if the apology is “IS NO SKIN OFF [ANYONE’S] NOSE,” then it is worthless.

    You won’t see the G.A. apologize for the lousy schools they force most Blacks to attend, because they ARE responsible for that.

  2. pat do not get upset over people who talk so much and can not make a point the 1st time around. they talk and talk and talk, let see if we make a 100 comments is that a record?

  3. I was a teenager in Greensboro, NC when the students from A & T College did their famous sit-in in the downtown Woolworths and I’m glad I was able to witness those students bravery for their fellow man. Later in 1972 I was in eastern NC and had the flu and made the mistake of going through the “colored only” door at the doctor’s office….yes the doctor’s office. I was furious that they made me go around to the white entrance and I vowed then I’d try to do all I could to end racist attitudes in my environment. .

    Thank you Vivian for keeping this dialogue alive and to make folks realize its importance.

Comments are closed.